Ainge on Sheed, Shaq, TA and Perk

Danny Ainge covered a bunch of topics this morning while on the Dennis and Callahan show.

In a nutshell:

• Rasheed Wallace is definitely retiring
• Shaquille O'Neal is a longshot
• Tony Allen wants to play a bigger role, more than defense
• Perk likely out through mid-to-late February
• He disliked LeBron's Decision special and the pep rally in Miami
• Matt Barnes is a terrific player, but the Celtics can only offer vet minimum

Here's what Ainge had to say about this team making another run deep into the playoffs next season:I

Yeah, for two reasons, I think that I saw a much better [Kevin Garnett] in the playoffs than we had all year and KG told me once the season was over, how much better he felt than he had felt all year long. He was doing his strength training very late, so I’m encouraged by the possibility of that KG coming back and being better this year.

I saw a very good Ray Allen. Ray Allen got hurt, had a very severe thigh bruise that nobody really talked about in the NBA finals after he had a spectacular game early, in the third game. He had a severe thigh bruise; his legs looked about two inches bigger and all black and blue. Ray had a terrific year, he had his best year of his career shooting inside the arc and then he really stepped up and shot the ball outside the three-point line in the second half of the season, so I’m encouraged that Ray has a lot more left in the tank.

Paul was hurt, too; Paul was not 100 percent during the regular season. When he was 100 percent, Paul played great last year. With those guys at those ages, Paul and KG, Jermaine, there’s no reason if they can get healthy, they should be terrific players still.

Ah-ha! I knew there had to be a reason for Ray's poor shooting. He was badly injured and that's the only reason why the Lakers won Game 7. Tainted championship. Period.